2009 Potensac, Médoc

Blueberry and blackberry, with hints of sliced mushrooms. Full body, with velvety tannins and a soft textured finish. Best Potensac in years. Better in 2015.
(2/ 2012)

92
points
Wine Enthusiast

Shows smoky new wood and black currant fruit. This is a structured wine, powerful, while preserving just the right balance of acidity. It's dark and dense in character, yet with great freshness.
(4/ 2012)

89-91
points
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Dark purple-tinged ruby. Initially reticent nose opens with air to reveal cabernet franc-driven strawberry, violet, cocoa and mineral aromas. Then broad and chunky in the mouth, with red berry and black cherry flavors complicated by a welcome element of minerality. Became increasingly graceful with air, finishing long and vibrant, with very fine tannins. Deeper and more complex than usual for this wine, and a great success of the vintage. This wine avoids the excessive ripeness of many other '09s.
(6/ 2010)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

This fairly priced Medoc from Jean-Hubert Delon (the proprietor of Leoville-Las-Cases) has hit almost 14% natural alcohol and looks to be the best wine made at this estate since 1982, which drank well for 15 years and cost about $4.00 a bottle in that era. Crisp, mineral notes intermixed with mulberry, black cherry and black currant fruit jump from the glass of this classic Bordeaux, which is both powerful and elegant. There is considerable substance to the wine, with its attractive texture and overall sense of precision and elegance. This is a sleeper of the vintage not to be missed. Anticipated maturity: now-2022.
(2/ 2012)

2009 Potensac, Médoc

Wine Scores

Below is a listing of the wine review scores we frequently reference in our notes. While these sources remain an excellent source of information, we always recommend that you trust your own palate. Scores in these publications often represent the personal taste of an individual critic, which may not always coincide with your own. We have a huge team of excellent wine professionals that can match wines you've had in the past with new arrivals that meet your flavor profile.

Product Reviews:

This is as good as a deal as you'll find in 2009. It's just incredible wine with subtlety and finesse, a solid core of sweet fruit, and lovely tannins that almost melt on the finish. Potensac has been overdelivering as a Chateau for the last decade. This is a case-worthy purchase.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

- Cabernet Sauvignon has come a long way from its role as a blending varietal, however dominant, in the wines of Bordeaux. Today it is the most planted red varietal in the world. Identified as a descendent of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be planted in warmer climates to fully ripen. Its small berries can easily be identified for their distinctive blue color, thick skins and high tannins. And while the varietal has its own definitive characteristics: green pepper-like aromas and black currant flavors among them, it is perhaps most prized for its ability to convey terroir, vintage and winemaking.
A relatively new varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon started making inroads into the wines of the Médoc and Graves in the late-18th century. Today it is also dominant in the up-and-coming Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux and can also be found in Southwest France. It is the companion varietal to Sangiovese in Italy's Super Tuscans and is planted all over Europe, stretching to lesser-known winegrowing regions like Russia and Lebanon. In the Americas Cabernet Sauvignon has found champions in every nook and cranny of California and among winemakers in Washington, where it complements plantings of Merlot. In South America, Cab thrives in Chile, but can also be found in smaller amounts in Argentina and even in Mexico.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them. Click for a list of bestselling items from all of France.